Pages

Tuesday, 17 March 2015

Some Birthday Sewing

It is my niece's birthday on Friday. Some sewing was needed post haste so it could be posted and arrive in time.My niece lives in Melbourne and I do not see them all that often. But on a recent visit, I noticed she was playing with her Barbies and they were stored in a cardboard box. Ah ha, Barbie tote definitely required!

The sewing area (AKA the dining room table) was set up and the pattern found in my pattern crate. The birthday girl's favourite colour was determined - aquamarine blue. I made the tote in the bottom right corner with a few adjustments. I did not have any vinyl and am not a huge fan of sewing with it anyway. So the pockets were made with fabric as well. It also used bias tape for the pocket bindings, but I had heaps of lovely ribbon to use instead.

I really like the pleated pockets - very clever and simple to do.

Finished tote. Three smaller pockets on the front and two larger on the back for the Barbies. Heaps of room inside for all their clothes and gear. Miss Ballerina decided this would also make a great beach bag, with pockets for sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.And of course, I am looking at it as a great bag to take to Crafternoons once a month.So you may be seeing this bag again in different forms!The Barbies also needed some accessories from this pattern. So I made two sleeping bags - one for Barbie, one for Ken!

Living in a household of little boys, there were no Barbies on hand to model the sleeping bag. So a lion had to stand in. I love how you can roll it up like a real sleeping bag and that it has a sewn in stuffed pillow.I think this gift should be a hit with my niece. And as an added extra, I didn't buy a single thing to make this gift (hence the substitutions). Yay for stash busting!Next sewing project - and I am really looking forward to this one - is an apron for this swap (this link has some great links to apron tutorials).

I very nearly missed the deadline to join. My partner lives in Texas and my clues to her style are 'red, floral and retro'. Sounds exactly like the clues I gave! I will have to keep this under wraps though until after the deadline, just in case she visits here!And if you love vintage embroidery, you really need to visit Jenny's blog. There are some lovely freebies, in particular the vintage kitchen series that is happening this year.

And it was a gorgeous sunset last night. We are looking at a warm week this week, but probably the last before the autumn starts to really cool down.Linking today with Frontier Dreams for KCCO.Look forward to seeing all the crafty goodness this week.

17 comments:

What a darling bag you sewed for your niece! I too can see lots of other possibilities for such a cute bag! You are a very talented sewer! I just dusted off my sewing machine a week or so ago... and I will enjoy following along your blog to be inspired to use it more! Thanks for stopping by and saying hello at my space today :)

Thanks for visiting! I find I seem to go in bursts - I'll only do knitting for ages, then be inspired to swap to sewing or quilting. I really love to sew though, as you can whip something up so much faster than knitting or quilting. Big satisfaction there!

How fun! An Apron swap! I was contemplating making an apron this morning from that book A Is For Apron. (I probably wont because I would need some urgent pressing deadline to force me into action!) Thats a great gift for your niece. Handmade is the best! xx

I loved my Barbies when I was a little girl and would have loved to have a tote bag for them just like the one you made. Your niece will be thrilled when she gets it! Oh, and love the little sleeping bags...too cute!

Make sure and share a photo of the apron with us when you complete it. I love aprons as they always remind me of my grandmother. Her aprons weren't fancy just very practical bib-style ones. She was a true farm girl even when she lived in town. :)

What lovely sunset photos! As you head into autumn, I'm thinking spring-like thoughts here. Have a wonderful week no matter what the season!

Welcome to the Tiny Toadstool Cottage

I am a stay at home mum to 5 darlings. I hope to share our lives as we Waldorf craft, knit, sew, cook and homestead on our 8 acre farmlet, and read in any time left over. I love all things vintage (my girls call me old-fashioned!) and am a fan of Tasha Tudor. I am also passionate about our earth and doing all we can to help to make this a better planet for us all by learning to live as simply as possible.